Michael here again with more exciting news for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet owners: a new BlackBerry® Tablet OS update is now available! BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.5 introduces a variety of new features and enhancements, so similar to our BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3 update post, I’ve compiled a handy list of important need-to-know information so you can hit the ground running with your updated BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Let’s do this!

Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Update and Preload

In addition being available on the BlackBerry App World™ storefront, the first tablet-optimized Facebook® application will come preloaded within BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.5. The Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet app has been updated to include video uploading, Message deletion, Facebook Search enhancements and more! There’s so much in the Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet update that we gave the app its own post, so click the link and check it out!

Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Update Now Available!

In-App Payments Support

The BlackBerry App World storefront now enables BlackBerry PlayBook applications with in-app payment support. Whether it’s buying another level in a game, or a new edition of a magazine, in-app payment support means dynamic possibilities for BlackBerry PlayBook applications and better apps for users. Developers should read this important post, Introducing the BlackBerry Payment Service and BlackBerry Payment Service SDK, to learn more about updating and submitting their apps to include in-app payment support.

Additional BlackBerry Tablet OS Enhancements

BlackBerry PlayBook Charging and Battery Pop-up:

• The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet can now be charged even when fully powered down.
• BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.5 now alerts you if you are using an incorrect charger with your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. For example, if you accidentally plug an incompatible BlackBerry smartphone charger into the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet you will now receive an alert on the screen to let you know that this charger will not charge your tablet.
• After touching the battery indicator on the top right corner of the home screen, a pop-up will appear and you can now choose to restart the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, turn it off, or put it into standby mode. You can also adjust the screen brightness from this same pop-up.

Additional Language Support:

With BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.5, we have added support for the following languages: French, Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, and UK English.

Video Chat Connectivity:

We’ve added support for the TURN (Traversal Using Relay NAT) protocol, which enhances Video Chat connections between users when their call is crossing between a public network and an enterprise network behind a firewall.

Wi-Fi Hotspot Detection:

Automatic Wi-Fi hotspot detection in the BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.5 makes it easier to connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot (at a coffee shop or airport, for example) during the set up process.

Headset Audio Boost:

This new option allows you to add an extra level of volume to help maintain an enjoyable audio experience with your headset in noisier areas, such as airplanes.

How to upgrade to BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.5

Users who purchase and activate a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet on or after Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 will be automatically updated to v1.0.5 as part of the BlackBerry PlayBook setup process. Existing BlackBerry PlayBook users will be presented with a software update notification on the BlackBerry PlayBook status ribbon, or they can go check for the software update at any time in the Settings Menu under Software Updates.

Post a comment and let us know what you think of these new features added to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!

(YouTube link for mobile viewing)

On Monday, we were excited to share with you our latest addition to the BlackBerry® Bold™ family – the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones, powered by the new BlackBerry 7 OS. Onsite at BlackBerry World 2011, I got the chance to speak with Product Managers Michael and Jason to take a deeper look at the hardware and software capabilities of these powerful new devices.

Post a comment and let us know what you think of the new BlackBerry Bold smartphones! If you’re looking for more info don’t forget to check out yesterday’s announcement post for the full scoop:

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 Smartphones: BlackBerry 7 with a Bold Touch

Exciting news! An update to the BlackBerry® Tablet OS is coming to the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet this week. BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3 brings a bunch of new features to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, including a Video Chat application and BBM™ support via BlackBerry® Bridge™, so we’ve compiled a list of important need-to-know facts and tips so you can take advantage of these features right after you install the update. Let’s get started!

BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat

The Video Chat application enables video and voice over Wi-Fi calling between BlackBerry PlayBook tablets in peer-to-peer or enterprise environments using your BlackBerry® ID profile. Here are some of the features I’m really excited about:

• One-Click Calls – With just one click you can make a call from your Video Chat contact list, log of recent calls or simply by entering the BlackBerry ID email address of the person you want to call.
• Incoming Call Notifications – You will receive a notification pop-up when a new video call comes in, allowing you to accept the call as either a video or voice call, or decline the call. For those quiet moments — such as when you’re watching a movie, playing a game or listening to music — you will also have the ability to simply set the “Do Not Disturb” option and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will automatically ignore all incoming calls.
• Powerful In-Call Functions – By using the picture-in-picture function you can easily preview what your camera is seeing prior to placing the call to see the video feed you will be sending. You can also easily switch cameras from front to rear so your friends can see what you see, and for private moments you can mute/unmute audio or make or take calls using voice only.
• Friends List – BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat comes complete with a Friends List for maintaining your contacts. A friendly name and a picture can easily be added to a contact to personalize the entry and a Call Log makes it simple to keep track of who called, as well as when and what calls were missed. Friends are added using their BlackBerry ID profile.
• Video Chat Multitasking – Thanks to the power of the BlackBerry Tablet OS and its true multitasking capabilities, video and voice over Wi-Fi chats can continue running in the background while you interact with other applications.
• HDMI Video Chat – In addition to chatting using the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s high-resolution screen, Video Chat supports HDMI output when in ‘Mirror Mode’, allowing you to output what is on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s screen to a larger HD television or monitor.

BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) Support via BlackBerry Bridge

BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3 expands the BlackBerry Bridge experience to include BBM (woot! Ed.). BlackBerry smartphone users with BlackBerry Bridge enabled can now mirror their smartphone BBM on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s large high-resolution display over a secure Bluetooth® connection. BBM via BlackBerry Bridge features:

• Full BBM Chat Functionality – Either one-to-one or multi-person chats.
• BBM Status Updates – Let your friends know how you feel about your new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!
• Photo Sharing – Via the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet or your BlackBerry smartphone SD card.
• BBM Alerts – New BlackBerry Messenger alerts will appear on the BlackBerry PlayBook notification ribbon.

Document Editing via BlackBerry Bridge

In addition to BBM, BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3 now adds document-editing support via BlackBerry Bridge to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. This means that documents sitting on your BlackBerry smartphone can now be accessed via secure Bluetooth connection, edited on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s large high-resolution display and then saved back to your BlackBerry smartphone. Here are some important aspects of document editing via BlackBerry Bridge to note:

• File Access – Access to your pictures, documents, spreadsheets and slideshows via either email over BlackBerry Bridge or the BlackBerry Bridge files application. With BlackBerry Bridge, you can view photos and office documents and edit spreadsheets and text-based documents.
• BlackBerry® Internet Service Support – When bridged to a BlackBerry smartphone with a BIS service plan, users can select to either save their document locally on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet or back onto their BlackBerry smartphone SD card.
• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Support – When bridged to a BlackBerry smartphone operating on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, documents automatically get saved back to the BlackBerry smartphone SD card to help ensure corporate data is kept secure.

Home Screen Browser Bookmarks

Users can now quickly save a BlackBerry PlayBook Browser bookmark to the PlayBook tablet home screen for easy access. Select the browser bookmark from the home screen, and the BlackBerry PlayBook browser will automatically launch the webpage you want to see!

How to upgrade to BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3

Users who purchase and activate a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet on or after Tuesday, May 3rd will automatically upgrade to v1.0.3 as part of the BlackBerry PlayBook setup process. Existing BlackBerry PlayBook users will be presented with a software update notification on the BlackBerry PlayBook status ribbon, or they can go check for the software update at any time in the settings menu under Software Updates. The BlackBerry Tablet OS update must be performed over a Wi-Fi® connection and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Post a comment and let us know what you think of these new features added to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!

Update: Check out our hands on demo of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones, with Product Managers Michael and Jason after the jump!

With BlackBerry World™ 2011 officially kicking off today, I am excited to share with you the first of many much-anticipated announcements. The iconic BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone family has just received a powerful update with the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones driven by the BlackBerry 7 OS.

Like the BlackBerry® Torch™ smartphone, these new devices integrate brilliant, high resolution, capacitive touch screens, trackpads and full QWERTY keypads and are the thinnest BlackBerry smartphones yet. Here’s a quick look at some of the key specs for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones.

• 115 x 66 x 10.5 mm, approximately 130 g
• 2.8″ capacitive touch screen display – VGA (640×480), 287 PPI resolution
• Full, wide QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad
• 1.2 GHz Processor, 768 MB RAM
• 8 GB on-board memory, plus microSD slot supporting up to 32 GB cards
• NFC technology
• 5.0 MP camera with flash, supports 720p HD video recording
• Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), Digital Compass (Magnetometer), Proximity Sensor
• Built-in GPS / aGPS
• Dual-Band Wi-Fi® – 802.11 b/g/n at 2.4 GHz and 802.11 a/n at 5 GHz
• Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support
• 1230 mAh removable, rechargeable battery

Wireless Network support:
o BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone: Tri-Band HSPA+, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE
o BlackBerry Bold 9930 smartphone: Dual-Band CDMA/EVDO Rev A, Dual-Band HSPA+, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE

(YouTube link for mobile viewing)

BlackBerry 7 OS

In addition to being the first touch BlackBerry Bold smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are also the first to feature the BlackBerry 7 OS. The BlackBerry 7 OS is a performance driven platform designed to deliver a faster and easier communication, multimedia and productivity experience for BlackBerry smartphone users. In addition to improved web browsing and universal search capabilities (now with voice-enabled search!), here is a quick rundown of some of the new functionality that the BlackBerry 7 OS powers in the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones:

• Liquid Graphics™ – The BlackBerry 7 OS delivers fast, fluid performance when browsing, accessing pictures or video, or running graphics intensive games.
• NFC – Built-in support for Near Field Communications (NFC), an exciting new technology that is designed to provide a secure exchange of information between NFC-enabled devices over a very short distance. Watch our interview with Andrew Bocking, VP Handheld Software Product Management, to learn more about BlackBerry and Near Field Communications.
• Augmented Reality – The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones feature a built-in compass (magnetometer) to take advantage of BlackBerry 7 OS support for augmented reality applications.
• HD Video – The BlackBerry 7 OS supports up to 720p HD video recording.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are expected to be available from carriers around the world beginning this summer. Stay tuned for additional blog posts where we dive deeper into the BlackBerry 7 OS and BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones! For now, head to the BlackBerry Bold smartphone page for the latest info.